Author: Communication Department

Kurt (real name withheld) was an active member of the opposition. He was arrested by around 15 police officers at his home in the early hours of the morning in 2007. Taken to the police station, those officers wanted Kurt to testify against the former president of his party and to acknowledge that he himself had tried to destabilize the party in power – which was by no means the case.

Because Kurt continued to deny the allegations, the agents beat him for four hours, only stopping to interrogate him further. After hours of torture, threats and humiliation, Kurt “acknowledged” the allegations. After his statement, he was imprisoned under deplorable conditions: he was forced to sleep on the ground, deprived of water, food and access to the toilets, and regularly beaten all over his body. Kurt had to share his cell with around thirty other detainees and was not given any chance to speak to anyone outside. Consequently, he was unable to warn his family or to have access to a lawyer.

Released on bail several months later, Kurt immediately informed the authorities of the violence that he had suffered. The United Nations and several human rights NGOs intervened on his behalf but did not manage to get anything done about it: five years after the events, no investigation had been opened.

That is why Kurt, with TRIAL’s support, filed a complaint before the United Nations in 2012, reporting the authorities’ violation of their international obligation and their responsibility in the torture that Kurt had suffered.

In November 2016, the United Nations recognized the violations of Kurt’s rights. Burundi has not yet enacted its recommendations.

A member of the Burundian police, Jeff (real name withheld) witnessed rampant corruption among his ranks while at work. The fact that he was courageous enough to publicly report such abuse led to his arrest and then arbitrary detention for several weeks.

The intimidation continued after his release: more or less explicit warnings, dismissal and, finally, death threats. Faced with this growing pressure, Jeff had no choice but to go into hiding. Despite keeping a low profile, Jeff was arrested and summarily executed in August 2010. His family never had the chance to see his mortal remains or organize a funeral, despite its numerous requests.

Although national and international mobilization was strong, no light was ever shed on Jeff’s execution. In view of the Burundian authorities’ deadlock, an NGO coalition, of which TRIAL International was part, referred the case to an international human rights body to finally get an investigation into this case opened. Burundi must meet its obligations to prosecute the perpetrators of this crime, to protect its nationals and to afford reparations to the victim’s family.

I.V. was a young man from Burundi invested in politics, an active supporter of an opposition party. After he openly showed his support for the party in question during an electoral campaign, I.V. began receiving anonymous phone calls with explicit death threats such as “You have very little time left to live”. Terrified, the victim abandoned his studies and distanced himself from his friends. He hid at home like a recluse for weeks, fearing for his life.
In 2012, however, he left his house to meet a friend. It quickly became clear this was a trap – people close to him saw him being taken away by police in uniform. A few days later, his lifeless body was found in the neighbouring countryside.
The local Prosecutor immediately ordered the competent authorities to launch an investigation, a request that was vehemently supported by several NGOs. Despite this, years after the events, no investigation has been carried out and I.V.’s family has yet to discover the truth about his summary execution.
In 2015, in the light of this blatant impunity, TRIAL seized the file and took it to a human rights protection organisation. In its complaint, it alleged that the murder of Mr I.V. is, among others, a violation of his right to live, to non-discrimination, to freedom and to freedom of speech.

Mr H.T., a Burundian citizen, was a member of the CNDD-FDD, the party in power in Burundi, before joining an opposition party where he held various prominent positions.
Harassment began immediately after Mr H.T. switched parties. Old friends and colleagues from the CNDD-FDD insistently tried to convince him to come back, but their proposals gradually became threats. The victim received anonymous phone calls and was put under police surveillance. H.T. was even stopped on three occasions by the National Intelligence Service (Service National des Renseignements, or SNR) because of his political affiliation.
The threats intensified until the day when, in 2011, H.T. was ambushed by three policemen and murdered. His body was riddled with several bullets in the chest and legs.
As soon as the events happened, several NGOs condemned the crime and demanded an investigation. The case received wide media coverage, both in Burundi and abroad, due to its particularly violent and shocking nature.
Burundi never confirmed launching an investigation into the murder, and no case has ever been opened. The victim’s family remains in complete ignorance regarding the progress of the investigation that was allegedly launched. More than four years after the crime, the assassins are still at large.
TRIAL seized the file and took it to a human rights protection organisation in 2015. In its complaint, it alleged that the murder of Mr O.R. is, among others, a violation of his rights to live, to non-discrimination, to freedom and to freedom of speech.

At the beginning of 2008, in front of his home, Jean (real name withheld) listened to the story of Fabien (ibidem), a member of his family. The latter told him of a recent altercation with a representative of the State, who had tried to extort official documents from him. During the discussion, the same representative burst in front of Fabien, once again insisting to obtain the said documents.

Witnessing this manifest abuse, Jean intervened to challenge the order and to protect his relative… which led to him being forcibly taken by several policemen. Thrown into a vehicle, he was beaten and released only under pressure from the onlookers who witnessed the scene.

Covered in blood, seriously wounded, Jean was abandoned on the roadside. Taken to the hospital, it took him several weeks to heal from his wounds.

As soon as he was back on his feet, Jean denounced the abuses to the competent authorities. He was granted only one hearing, which led to nothing. After four years, and despite many revivals, the situation has not changed.

Procedure

Faced with the apathy of the national judicial system, Jean was not discouraged and appealed to TRIAL International for justice.

Noting the deadlock in which he has found himself, the NGO assisted him by filing a complaint with the United Nations. This complaint, filed in 2012, requires that torture and the Burundian authorities be recognized.

The procedure is currently underway.

Fanny (real name withheld) was only nine years old when she was raped by a military officer. He was a family friend and regularly visited Fanny and her parents.

One night, while patrolling in Fanny’s neighborhood, he forcefully took the young girl to his domicile. There, after taking his clothes off, he undressed the victim and raped her. Several times, he threatened to kill her and her family if ever she were to reveal the rape.

In spite of the threats, Fanny, in extreme distress, found the courage to tell the facts to her mother a few days later.

Her mother, who also has two other children, was immediately in favor of prosecuting the torturer. Her husband preferred a friendly settlement – in other words, the payment of a sum of money in order to forget about the case. Given this fundamental disagreement, Fanny’s father left the family home. Therefore, her mother began her long quest for justice on her own.

Procedure

The Burundian justice heard all the parties’ testimonies and a medical expertise was conducted, confirming the young girl’s statements. But gradually, the procedure became obscure and the investigation slacked. Finally, after months of inaction, the auditor closed the case, under the pretext of insufficient infringing elements.

In the face of this injustice, TRIAL International and local NGO Centre Seruka took up the case on in 2013. Together, they brought it before the United Nations, asking for the rape to be recognized, as well as Burundi’s failure to fulfil its international obligations to protect her and grant her justice. The procedure is pending.

Today, Fanny’s health remains worrying. Her mother, after having refused the amicable settlement, has been abandoned by her family. Both Fanny and her mother are living in extremely precarious conditions.

Until 2011, Clement (alias), a political opponent, used to work as a teacher. He has been arrested at home by security forces, under the false pretext of threatening the security of the state.

Taken by force to a police station, the security personal attempted to extort a confession from him. On the spot, he has been subjected to several acts of torture and received death threats. The physical and psychological sufferings inflicted on Clement during that event were extremely severe, to such an extent that the after-effects persisted for several years.

But Clement did not let himself be down casted. While in prison, he has tried to obtain justice by using all legal means and has pursued this fight after his release.

Unfortunately, Clément has quickly been confronted with the ill will of the Burundian authorities. Only once heard in this case, his legal record has been lost, obliterating his chances of obtaining justice.

On the other hand, the trial for threatening the security of the state which he has been subjected to has continued as if nothing had happened. Throughout the trial, the accused has repeatedly denounced the torture of which he was a victim, to no avail. At the end of his trial, Clement has been sentenced to several years in prison. He has eventually been acquitted.

Procedure

Three years after the incident, the Burundian legal system has proved to be incapable of assisting Clement. As of now, the torture he has suffered remains unpunished. Based on this observation, TRIAL International decided to bring this case to the United Nations, at the international level.

The plaintiff’s requests are simple: the authorities must recognize the torture inflicted to the victim; Their responsibility in their execution and pay reparations to the victim for the wrongdoing. Moreover, independently of this procedure, the Burundian State must ensure that the victim is not in danger because of the steps taken.

The procedure is underway.

Désiré (not his real name), a Burundian citizen, had joined the National Liberation Forces (FNL) movement when he was scarcely more than a child. After his demobilization, he decided to live a peaceful life with his wife and their child.

But the calm was short-lived. In 2010, a wave of insecurity swept across the country after the opposition contested the elections. Political opponents were systematically persecuted. There was, in particular, a significant surge in extrajudicial executions.

During this time, Désiré was arrested for the first time by a State agent who tried to bribe him to get hold of the names of the FNL leaders.

Following Désiré’s refusal, several law enforcement officers tried to kill him at his home a few months later. Left for dead, the victim was hospitalized for several months in a very critical condition.

No sooner had he left the hospital, the authorities put pressure on him once more, forcing Désiré to flee the region. These precautions were insufficient to put an end to his ordeal, however, because Désiré was abducted and executed in July 2011. He was 28 years old at the time.

Proceedings

After the execution, numerous NGO’s such as Amnesty International, International Crisis Group, and Human Rights Watch put pressure on Burundian authorities to see justice done. An investigation was claimed to have been opened, but to date no investigative acts have been carried out and no proceedings have been launched.

Despite wide media coverage following Désiré’s execution, his family was never heard by the authorities or given information of any progress made. More than six years later, the acts remain unpunished.

An NGO coalition of which TRIAL International was part brought the case before an international human rights body. The victim’s family is entitled to an appropriate reparation, including compensation, satisfaction, and rehabilitation measures.

The proceedings are ongoing.

André (real name withheld) was a ranked army member. One night, he was jogging with his friends when gun shots suddenly rang out. Armed men, some of whom were in civilian clothes and others in police uniform, rushed in and requested everyone to leave the premises. Unsure how to react, André and his friends remained in place.

Within minutes, André was tied up, searched, beaten, verbally abused and threatened with weapons. His mobile phone and identity documents were confiscated. His friends were subjected to the same torture at the hands of other armed men.

One witness recounts: “(…) There were people lying down on the floor in the mud. There were about ten people who were being continuously stomped on their backs (and insulted) (…) In spite of the fact that it was already night time, I could see mud all over their bodies and even on their heads, indicating that they had been dragged in the mud.”

They were crammed into a van. None of them knew why they were being taken nor where they were going. During the journey, André nearly passed out on several occasions because the pain caused by the blows was so sharp.

Retained in arbitrary detention during three years

Hours later, André was brought to a small room to be interrogated. He was so weak that he couldn’t walk and had to be helped by his jailers.

The latter questioned him about a plot against the government, in which he had supposedly participated. No matter how much André denied his involvement, the questions became increasingly insistent to the point where they turned into threats.

Having himself experienced torture and witnessed his friends being tortured, the victim preferred to sign a false statement. Despite this, he was kept in detention under inhumane conditions: locked up in a small cell of two square metres with no windows, forced to sleep on the bare ground and solely fed with rotten food.

It was not until three years later that André was freed. He still suffers to this day from the physical and psychological sequels related to this episode: post-traumatic disorders, anxiety attacks, sleep disturbances, etc.

Procedure

After his release from prison, he tried to obtain justice in every way possible. In spite of his perseverance and the intervention of several human rights organizations in his favor, nothing happened.

In 2013, TRIAL International assisted André in filing of a complaint to the United Nations. The latter acknowledged the responsibility of the State of Burundi in this case and requested it to provide for reparation payments to the victim.

Years later, André still suffers great economic and security distress. In the face of the impossibility to reintegrate the army, he has gone through long periods of unemployment. André’s health remains worrying, but he cannot afford medical treatment.

His health still leaves a lot to be desired and he is regularly subject to stressful episodes: “I am relieved that the United Nations have recognized the injustices I have gone through, although nothing will ever erase the pain. In the unstable context in Burundi, I still live with the fear of my torturers finding me.”

Claude (real name withheld) was stopped in the street by Burundian State agents. Without any explanations, they simply threatened him with a weapon and ordered him to follow them, confiscating his car keys.

During Claude’s interrogation, they tried by all means to make him “confess” fictitious facts: blows all over his body with bats and iron wires, suspension by the arms, broken teeth… Claude’s torture lasted for hours. The height of horror was reached as one of the torturers filmed the entire ordeal.

Cornered against the wall and in a critical state, the victim accepted to sign a previously prepared statement by his torturers.

But this “confession” lead to further violations of his rights : Claude was indeed detained the following seven days in a crowded cell without hygiene, unable to contact his family or a lawyer. His relatives learned of his fate through media reports.

Five months passed before he was heard by a judge, who ordered his liberation for lack of evidence to sustain the charges.

Procedure

Claude tried to access the Burundian justice in every way possible, without success. Neither a medical certificate attesting the torture that he suffered nor the intervention of human rights organizations made the authorities take action.

In December 2011, Claude brought the case to the international level with the help of TRIAL International. Together, they seized the United Nations, requesting them to take a decision in regards to Claude’s torture and arbitrary detention.

If successful, the Burundian government will have to meet its obligations of prosecuting the perpetrators and paying reparations for the damages that the victim suffered. The procedure is pending.

(The Hague, 19 May 2016) – The European Union (EU) and its member states should make a commitment to further enhance national prosecutions of crimes under international law and human rights violations, six international human rights groups said today. Member states should adopt necessary laws, create specialized war crimes units, and ensure that these units have financial and political support.

The groups are Amnesty International, the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Human Rights Watch, REDRESS, and TRIAL International. The groups issued their statement in advance of the first European Union Day Against Impunity, which will be celebrated on 23 May 2016 in The Hague and is organized by the Dutch presidency of the Council of the EU, together with the European Commission, the EU Genocide Network, and Eurojust.

“The EU Day Against Impunity shines a spotlight on the fact that more and more national courts are investigating and prosecuting grave human rights violations committed abroad,” said Gauri van Gulik, Deputy Program Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International. “International courts have limited capacity and national courts should play a key role in acting as a “safety net” to prevent impunity for crimes under international law.”

The EU Day Against Impunity is taking place during the ongoing refugee crisis that has led to the arrival in European countries of numerous people fleeing conflict zones in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. This situation creates a unique opportunity for European states to make a meaningful contribution to justice for the atrocities in these countries. The increased presence of asylum seekers means that previously unavailable victims, witnesses, material evidence, and even some suspects are now within reach of national judicial authorities.

Over the past two decades, the national courts of an increasing number of countries, including but not limited to EU countries, have started trying cases of grave crimes such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions – “crimes under international law” – committed abroad.

National courts can have extra-territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed abroad when the suspects or the victim are a national of that country or for crimes that are considered so grave that ensuring accountability for them should be of concern to humanity as a whole. This principle under international law is known as “universal jurisdiction.” Although universal jurisdiction has existed for decades, it had been rarely used until a few years ago.

There has been considerable progress in the prosecution of crimes under international law by national courts in the last 20 years. Cases in European courts have involved crimes committed in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Kosovo, Iraq, Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Argentina, and Syria, among others.

In 2015, in a landmark case, the courts of Senegal put on trial the former head of state of Chad, Hissène Habré, for crimes committed in that country. Argentina and South Africa have opened investigations regarding grave human rights violations in China, Spain, Paraguay, and Zimbabwe. A recent study on 12 countries exercising universal jurisdiction found tangible progress – such as arrests, indictments, or convictions – in 27 cases in 2015.

While, in principle, it would be preferable for justice to be carried out in the countries where the crimes are committed, this is often not possible. The application of universal jurisdiction reduces the existence of “safe havens,” where perpetrators of crimes can enjoy impunity. It is a critically important avenue toward justice for victims who have nowhere else to turn and can help spur accountability in the countries where the crimes were committed.

Recognizing the important role of EU member states in ending impunity, the EU, in 2002 and 2003, adopted two decisions creating a network of investigators and prosecutors working on cases involving crimes under international law, the European Genocide Network, and recommending that member states create specialized war crimes units. Several EU countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, France, and Germany, have created such war crimes units, made up of police and prosecutors with specific expertise and dedicated to these cases. The EU Genocide Network has enhanced cooperation and facilitated the sharing of best practices between EU member states through biannual meetings.

“The increasing number of cases shows that investigations and prosecutions of complex international crimes by national courts may be hard but are not impossible with the right tools in place,” said Géraldine Mattioli-Zeltner, International Justice Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch. “The work of the existing war crimes units and of the EU Genocide Network is starting to bear fruit, and the EU should strengthen its support for this work and encourage other regional organizations to do the same.”

Several countries are already investigating grave human rights violations in Syria and Iraq. According to media reports, prosecutions and investigations are underway relating to war crimes and torture in these two countries in France, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

“Prosecutions in third states are often the only available option for victims to obtain justice, for example in places like Syria or Iraq where massive abuses are being perpetrated with impunity,” said Karim Lahidji, President of FIDH. “Universal jurisdiction cases are only a first step, but they are a beacon of hope for victims.”

It is not the first time that both victims and some suspects have arrived in European countries from conflict zones. The same happened after the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and after the Balkan wars in the ’90s. Today, European countries are better prepared to investigate grave international crimes and should do so in a way that secures accountability without stigmatizing entire groups of asylum seekers, the organizations said. Yet, the current situation and increased demands on national judicial authorities highlight that further improvements are needed to ensure effective national prosecutions of grave international crimes.

Not all EU member states have national laws defining crimes under international law, and some lack jurisdiction to prosecute such crimes when committed abroad, leaving impunity gaps within the EU. Only a minority of EU member states have set up specialized war crimes units, and more should consider doing so, the organizations said. Even in the countries that have war crimes units, they are often understaffed and under-resourced with just a handful of investigators and prosecutors despite a mounting number of cases.

Diplomatic considerations sometimes seem to hamper cases that touch on powerful countries such as the United States, Israel, or China. Some countries, including Belgium and Spain, have limited or effectively abandoned their universal jurisdiction laws in the past, following diplomatic pressure.

“It is absolutely crucial for universal jurisdiction to apply to all equally and without political interference in prosecutorial decisions,” said Andreas Schüller, Head of the International Crimes and Accountability Program at ECCHR.

It is also critical to establish effective cooperation between immigration services – which are on the first line in identifying potential victims and suspects – and judicial authorities. Some countries, such as the Netherlands, have created specialized war crimes units in their immigration services that screen asylum seekers for potential involvement in war crimes. In Germany, Syrian asylum seekers are systematically asked to provide – on a voluntary basis – information they may have about grave international crimes and this information is passed on to the police war crimes unit to be processed.

“Other countries should implement similar measures to assist victims and to identify potential perpetrators on their territory and bring them to justice,” said Philip Grant, Director of TRIAL.

In October 2014, the European Genocide Network adopted a strategy that lists these and other steps that the EU and member states should take to enhance national prosecutions of crimes under international law.

“Despite notable progress, there is still a lot of work to do to strengthen the practice of national prosecutions for war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said Jürgen Schurr, Head of Law and Policy at REDRESS. “The EU Day Against Impunity is the perfect occasion for the EU and its member states to commit to take concrete steps to implement the EU Genocide Network strategy. The EU Day Against Impunity should also be a yearly occurrence to highlight progress and remaining challenges.”